Anglo American sets up floating PV farm on tailings pond in Chile

Source: @AngloAmericanCL on Twitter

March 15 (Renewables Now) - Anglo American plc (LON:AAL) has completed a 86-kW floating solar photovoltaic (PV) farm on top of the Las Tortolas tailings pond near a copper and molybdenum mine in Chile, the mining company informed on Thursday.

The pilot project consists of 256 pieces of 330-W polycrystalline modules installed on a floating island in the Las Tortolas reservoir. The modules are connected to a monitoring system which will track their performance to see if the project can be expanded into a larger-sized solar island, Anglo American said.

The floating farm is expected to cut 58 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year, generate 150,000 kWh of electricity annually and reduce the evaporation of the water surface it covers by 80%.

The PV modules can withstand extreme weather conditions, such as high wind and earthquakes, and the island itself can adjust to the water levels in the dam.